The Sicilian Duke's Demand

‘Wonderful,’ Alessandro replied. ‘You don’t see too many with that beautiful shape. And good morning to you, Isobel. Any more visits from brigands?’

‘Mercifully,’ she replied in a clipped voice, ‘no.’

‘I’m very relieved to hear that,’ he replied cheerfully. ‘Is the morning’s work over?’

‘We just need to get these things back to the palazzo and into the solution,’ David replied. ‘Then we can catalogue them.’

‘I’m on my way round the coast to Selinunte,’ Alessandro said. ‘You get a wonderful view of the temple from the sea. I have room for one passenger. I would be honoured to show you your first glimpse of the temple of Selinunte, Dr Roche.’

Isobel opened her mouth to spit out a rejection when she felt David nudge her heavily. ‘Remember what you promised,’ he murmured urgently.

Theo jerked his woolly head at the boat, too, emphasizing, Go.

‘That would be very nice,’ she heard herself say in a scratchy voice. She was rewarded by the beams from her three colleagues.

‘Come aboard,’ Alessandro commanded. He leaned over the polished brass railing, holding out his hand. Gritting her teeth, Isobel picked up her hat, sunglasses and tote bag, and let Alessandro Mandalà grasp her wrist. She put her foot on the chromed ladder. With terrifying strength, he hoisted her up onto the gleaming mahogany deck of his launch.

‘For the greater good,’ she muttered.

‘I beg your pardon?’ Alessandro asked.

‘Nothing,’ she replied.

Alessandro waved farewell to the dive boat and eased the launch away, slowly increasing the engine speed once they were a safe distance away. The rumble of the motor deepened. And the launch, sharp and white as a tiger’s tooth, cut through the blue Mediterranean, bearing her away.

The coast along which they sped was wild and rocky, dotted with clumps of prickly pear and tall cypresses. The sea was a deep ultramarine and it was so hot that to feel the wind in her hair was delicious.

Alessandro’s launch was a sleek millionaire’s toy, upholstered in white leather, with two monstrous engines at the stern, no doubt capable of hurling the craft along like a missile. Down the companionway, she could see a luxuriously appointed lower deck. No doubt the cabin was hung with Old Masters!